This paper aims to explain and analyze how certain contradiction is manifested in the social identities in the population of the Andean highlands of Arica during the process of implementing the post-Pacific War education, specially in its act of incorporating the policies of the Chilean education in these territories when there was a renewed residue of Peruvian citizenship in the everyday act of this Andean population (currently, northern Chile. In characterizing this process of socio-political and socio-cultural mixtures, I intend to discuss two points: first, that beyond the proc-ess itself, there was since before the occupation a Chilean idea of modernity implemented by a liberal ideology that permeated the whole nineteenth century Peruvian society. Second, that there was a dispute of an education beyond the nationalities in conflict as an articulating axis. Since there was a clear involvement of local schools to their designated Andean spaces, I suggest using the idea of modernity that could support this proposal.